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It’s September, which means draft season is around the corner. Son published his Top 100, so after many a podcast & Twitter battle between us (all in good spirits of course) I figured that the best thing to do was publish a comparison piece. I promise there will be no talk of Corey Brewer in here (yeah, nah), but as Son attested to in his comments, personal biases and intangibles must be accounted for when looking at rankings. We all build teams and weight categories uniquely. There is more than one way to build a winner.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at the Top 100 comparisons between our fierce leader Son and myself.

+ Indicates I am higher than Son.

– Indicates that I am lower than Son.

= Identical ranking.

CraigRankSonDeviation +/-
Anthony Davis1Anthony Davis=
Giannis Antetokuonmpo2James Harden+
James Harden3Steph Curry
Kevin Durant4Kevin Durant+
Steph Curry5Giannis Antetokuonmpo
Karl Anthony-Towns6Karl Anthony Towns=
Nikola Jokic7Nikola Jokic=
Lebron James8Lebron James=
Damian Lillard9Chris Paul+
Russell Westbrook10Damian Lillard+

No real surprises here. The top 6 are interchangeable and you can make an argument for any of those guys. If you take Russell Westbrook in the top 10, then you do so knowing you’re punting turnovers.

Kawhi Leonard11Victor Oladipo+
Victor Oladipo12Russell Westbrook
Chris Paul13Kyrie Irving
Paul George14Paul George=
Jimmy Butler15Jimmy Butler=
Joel Embiid16Kevin Love+
Rudy Gobert17Marc Gasol+
Donovan Mitchell18Joel Embiid+
Kyle Lowry19Clint Capela+
Bradley Beal20Rudy Gobert+

The two big differences between Son and myself are over Kawhi Leonard and Bradley Beal. Listen to the pod HERE for the Beal discussion. As for Kawhi, I’m a believer he returns to elite form. He is a free agent after the season, so can he afford a season like last year?

Kyrie Irving21Otto Porter Jr
Kemba Walker22Kyle Lowry+
Clint Capela23Kris Middleton
Draymond Green24Jrue Holiday+
Jrue Holiday25Kemba Walker
Ben Simmons26Donovan Mitchell+
CJ McCollum27John Wall+
Kris Middleton28Al Horford
Kevin Love29Tobias Harris
John Wall30Eric Bledsoe

Son has Otto Porter Jr 19 spots higher than me. Much of Otto’s value comes from his shooting efficiency and low turnovers. He is for sure a solid pick in a roto league, but in H2H I am looking for a bit more stat-stuffing upside.

Marc Gasol31DeAndre Ayton
Tobias Harris32Jamal Murray
Devin Booker33Gary Harris+
Blake Griffin34DeAndre Jordan+
DeMar DeRozan35Klay Thompson+
Eric Bledsoe36Bradley Beal
Jamal Murray37Kawhi Leonard
Lamarcus Aldridge38Robert Covington+
Al Horford39Draymond Green
Otto Porter Jr40Lamarcus Aldridge

I have Blake Griffin ranked 43 places higher than Son. Yes, the defensive stats are light, but there are not many PF’s in the league that will offer you big upside in both the assist and three-point categories. DeMar DeRozan is your classic case of team context because his value fluctuates greatly depending on who was selected in earlier rounds, but there is value for high-volume free throw percentage and scoring, with a solid trickle of boards, assists, and steals.

Gary Harris41Will Barton
Lauri Markannen42CJ McCollum+
Jayson Tatum43Ben Simmons+
Luka Doncic44Jarrett Allen+
Andre Drummond45John Collins+
Myles Turner46Nikola Vucevic+
Aaron Gordon47Devin Booker+
Nikola Vucevic48Enes Kanter
Josh Richardson49Myles Turner+
DeAndre Ayton50Mike Conley

First rookie off the board for me is Luka Doncic. Love the fit from a team style, coach, and personnel perspective. I see no reason why he won’t achieve top 50 value over the course of the season.

Mike Conley51Lauri Markannen
John Collins52Lou Williams
Jarrett Allen53Andre Drummond
Gordon Hayward54Luka Doncic+
Will Barton55Jonas Valanciunas
Paul Millsap56Jayson Tatum+
Lou Williams57Nikola Mirotic
Ricky Rubio58Josh Richardson+
D’Angelo Russell59JJ Reddick+
Jonathan Isaac60Jeff Teague+

I am all-in on Jonathan Isaac this year. Even with just 25 mpg, the defensive-weighted stats are huge, and if Isaac can stay healthy and have even a small uptick on offense, Isaac could develop into a fantasy darling.

Lonzo Ball61Serge Ibaka+
DeAndre Jordon62Aaron Gordon
Steven Adams63Paul Millsap+
Nikola Mirotic64Joe Ingles+
Jabari Parker65Dwight Howard+
Wendell Carter Jr66Jonathan Isaac+
Goran Dragic67Jaren Jackson Jr+
Trae Young68Wendell Carter Jr+
Nic Batum69Harrison Barnes+
Robert Covington70Zach Lavine

Am I a big fan of Jabari Parker playing the 3 in real life? No! I do think it provides an excellent path to fantasy success, though, as the Bulls will no doubt find a way to get significant minutes for their marquee summer signing.

Jaren Jackson Jr71Nic Batum
Dennis Smith Jr72Danillo Gallinari+
Jusuf Nurkic73Tim Hardaway Jr+
Enes Kanter74Hassan Whiteside
Serge Ibaka75Jordan Bell
Jeff Teague76Steven Adams
Marvin Bagley III77Blake Griffin+
Kris Dunn78Dewayne Dedmon+
Dario Saric79DeMar DeRozan+
Julius Randle80Kyle Anderson+

The key to rookie success for Marvin Bagley III lies in the pace of play for the Kings, with Bagley III being the best forward option in transition. De’Aaron Fox could well just be MB3’s fantasy best friend. Call me a believer.

Jonas Valanciunas81Lonzo Ball
Harrison Barnes82Darren Collison
Bogdan Bogdanovic83Goran Dragic+
Collin Sexton84Mo Bamba+
Zach Lavine85Ricky Rubio
Dwight Howard86Evan Fournier
Joe Ingles87Taurean Prince
Eric Gordon88Willie Cauley-Stein+
Tim Hardaway Jr89Larry Nance Jr
Brook Lopez90Eric Gordon+

Outside of Collin Sexton, this is the round of boredom for me, but there are still plenty of solid fantasy producers to be drafted. I think Joe Ingles takes a small step back, not because of his lack of ability, but because Grayson Allen could take some of his minutes to keep fat Joe rested for the playoffs.

Hassan Whiteside91Corey Brewer
Jordan Bell92Kris Dunn
Brandon Ingram93Dario Saric+
Jaylen Brown94Gordon Hayward+
Kyle Kuzma95Malcolm Brogdon+
Malik Monk96Jusuf Nurkic+
Thaddeus Young97Bogdan Bogdanovic+
Jakob Poeltl98Mitchell Robinson+
Taurean Prince99Thad Young
Markelle Fultz100Marcin Gortat+

Malik Monk baby! This round is all about Monk. James Borrego has been talking him up like a favorite lovechild, plus Nic Batum came out on Twitter saying it’s likely he returns to his natural position (SF) to open up the position for Monk. The complication here is Jeremy Lamb, but the Hornetts need a ball handler and shooter. Over the course of the season, I envision a big breakout from the former Kentucky star.

 

You can find me on Twitter @storytelling41 for the usual dose of basketball news and opinions, or check out our podcast which goes live every Thursday featuring the Razzball team.

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